Emirates, the giant and fast-growing Middle Eastern airline, will begin daily nonstop flights between Dubai and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on March 1, the airline announced Wednesday.

The move will offer travelers a new option from Seattle to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa via the airline's hub in Dubai, which is one of the United Arab Emirates.

The airline flies to more than 100 destinations from Dubai, including multiple cities on the Indian subcontinent as well as major cities in China, Japan and Korea.

Flights will leave Dubai daily at 09:50 local time and arrive at Sea-Tac at 1:10 p.m. Pacific Time. With the 12-hour time difference, that's a flight of 15 hours and 20 minutes.

From Seattle, flights will leave at 5:10 p.m., arriving in Dubai at 7:40 p.m. the next day, a slightly shorter flight of 14 ½ hours.

Emirates will use a roomy Boeing 777 for its Seattle flights. The largest operator of 777s in the world, the airline last year ordered an additional 30 of the jets, bringing its total 777 passenger-fleet commitment to 132 aircraft.

The carrier is a premium service airline, promising high standards of passenger comfort, with "luxurious private suites in First Class, lie-flat beds in Business Class and generously-sized Economy Class seats."

The Seattle route opening is part of an expansion in the U.S. this year.

Emirates already flies into Houston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Toronto, Canada. Starting in February, it will add Dallas-Fort Worth.